CROSSCAST LIVE from Cyclopark Gravesend. Live from the cafe, Neil Matt and Xan talk through the action from the National Champs.

The big news is that Xan did it - she is National Elite Cyclocross Champion! Awesome.

Support the show

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To support the show pop over to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/crosscast to make a donation towards our hosting fees - every little helps! Follow us on Insta and Facebook, and share to your networks! Neil Mansfield is part of Grity Sustainable Sports Apparel @gritykit, and Matt Payne runs Full Speed Events @full_speed_events. Xan Crees races for Team Spectra.

In Episode 9 of Season 8, Neil Matt and Xan look back on the end of the 2024-2025 Kerste Periode remembering an entertaining Baal with Van Empel only leading the race for about 1 metre (the most important 1 metre), and Iserbyt at his best. Koksijde added Sweeck to the list of legends, and Dendermonde was somehow a great watch despite some dominant rides and its usually ultra mud bath course.

The talk about Xans' peak in form with best ever result in a Belgian World Cup coming just before the National Champs.

The final round of the National Trophy partly came from Bradford with day 2 cancelled due to snow. What a disappointing season for UCI racers, especially when the younger and older riders got a full 5 races.

In the Laastse Ronde, they look forward to this weekend's National Championships; always a highlight of the season. In addition to the key Belgian and Netherlands competitions, they have a deep dive into what to expect for the British National Championships coming from Cyclopark. They are also given all the dirty details from Huw Williams, someone who knows every centimetre of the course.

With no TV expected this year, make sure that you get down to the side of the tape in Gravesend, and tune in to The Crosscast Live coming out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Support the show

--
To support the show pop over to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/crosscast to make a donation towards our hosting fees - every little helps! Follow us on Insta and Facebook, and share to your networks! Neil Mansfield is part of Grity Sustainable Sports Apparel @gritykit, and Matt Payne runs Full Speed Events @full_speed_events. Xan Crees races for Team Spectra.

In Episode 8 of Season 8 Neil, Matt and Xan catch up in the middle of the busiest time of the CX calendar, the Kerste Periode. With so much action they bring you a full show covering classics such as Zonhoven and Hulst, Diegem and Loenhout, with a decent look at Besancon.

Xan takes us through her experiences racing on some of the most challenging parcours of the year, and gives us insight into how she approached the barrage of huge fields, winter weather, and technical features.

Despite some dominant performances in some of the world cups, there have been a bunch of cracking races, including multiple career bests, some slow-burn races and others with gripping sections (for the men's racing, the start of Zonhoven, end of Diegem). One of the most compelling to watch had to be women's Loenhout... no spoilers here!

They preview the finale of the National Trophy Series, Baal, Koksijde and Dendermonde, and give more information on what to get excited about in the build-up to the National Champs just 2 weeks away.

With all of this World-class stuff going on, they also don't neglect local racing with Neil reporting back from his adventures. Respect to race organisers and volunteers during this busy time - chapeau.

📸MikeMazout 👌

Support the show

--
To support the show pop over to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/crosscast to make a donation towards our hosting fees - every little helps! Follow us on Insta and Facebook, and share to your networks! Neil Mansfield is part of Grity Sustainable Sports Apparel @gritykit, and Matt Payne runs Full Speed Events @full_speed_events. Xan Crees races for Team Spectra.